AI Incidents
Real-world cases where AI systems caused harm, classified by risk domain and entity. Data sourced from 
AIID and classified by 
MIT AI Risk Initiative. CC BY-SA 4.0
682 incidents
Replika's AI Partners Reportedly Sexually Harassed Users
Replika's "AI companions" were reported by users for sexually harassing them, such as sending unwanted sexual messages or behaving aggressively.
Waymo Self-Driving Taxi Reportedly Behaved Unexpectedly, Driving away from Support Crew
A Waymo self-driving taxi car was reportedly shown on video stranded on a road in Arizona while carrying a passenger, suddenly driving away from the company's roadside assistance worker, and ended up being stuck farther down the road.
Tesla Phantom Braking Complaints Surged, Allegedly Linked to Tesla Vision Rollout
In late 2021, Tesla owners’ complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about sudden unexpected automatic braking rapidly increased, coinciding with when radar was no longer equipped in its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
Facebook Alleged in Lawsuit Misleading Public about Effects of Algorithms on Children
Facebook was alleged in a lawsuit by the Ohio Attorney General purposely misleading the public about the control of its algorithms and their negative effects on children's well-being, which violated securities law.
Betfair's Machine-Learning Risk System Reportedly Failed to Flag Luke Ashton Before Gambling-Related Suicide in England
In England, Luke Ashton died by suicide on April 22, 2021 after a longstanding gambling disorder. A 2023 inquest and subsequent Prevention of Future Deaths report found that Betfair had assessed him as a low-risk gambler, did not meaningfully intervene between 2019 and his death, and used an algorithm that failed to flag his escalating gambling activity even as his betting intensified and his financial exposure grew.
Auto-Insurance Photo-Based Estimation Allegedly Gave Inaccurate Repair Prices Frequently
Auto-insurance companies' photo-based estimation of repair price was alleged by repair shop owners and industry groups as providing inaccurate estimates, causing damaged cars to stay in the shop longer.
Black Uber Eats Driver Allegedly Subjected to Excessive Photo Checks and Dismissed via FRT Results
A lawsuit by a former Uber Eats delivery driver alleged the company to have wrongfully dismissed him due to frequent false mismatches of his verification selfies, and discriminated against him via excessive verification checks.
Players Manipulated GPT-3-Powered Game to Generate Sexually Explicit Material Involving Children
Latitude's GPT-3-powered game AI Dungeon was reportedly abused by some players who manipulated its AI to generate sexually explicit stories involving children.
How French welfare services are creating ‘robo-debt’
A French welfare office using software to automatically evaluate cases incorrectly notified a woman receiving benefits that she owed €542.
Tesla on Autopilot Crashed Parked Michigan Police Car on Interstate
A Tesla Model Y on Autopilot collided with a parked Michigan State Police (MSP) car which had its emergency lights on, in Eaton County, Michigan, although no one was injured.
Amazon's Monitoring System Allegedly Pushed Delivery Drivers to Prioritize Speed over Safety, Leading to Crash
A lawsuit cited Amazon as liable in a crash involving its delivery driver, alleging that Amazon’s AI-powered driver monitoring system pushed drivers to prioritize speed over safety.
Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine Reportedly Used Canvas Activity Logs to Accuse Students of Cheating
Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine reportedly used Canvas learning-management activity logs and an internal analysis process to investigate remote-exam cheating during the 2020–2021 academic year. Seventeen medical students were charged after the school inferred that they accessed course materials during exams, but students and outside technical reviewers said automated Canvas activity may have been misread as intentional misconduct. Dartmouth later dropped the charges.
Year-long AI Surveillance Pilot in Two South Australian Aged Care Facilities Reportedly Overwhelmed Staff with False Positives
Between March 2021 and March 2022, an AI-enabled video and audio monitoring system was trialed in two South Australian aged care facilities. According to an independent audit commissioned by South Australia Health, the system produced over 12,000 false alerts, overwhelming staff and contributing to at least one missed real incident. The report concluded the system did not reach accuracy levels acceptable to staff or management during the pilot.
Facebook's Automated Tools Failed to Adequately Remove Hate Speech, Violence, and Incitement
Facebook's automated moderation tools were shown by internal documents performing incomparably to human moderators, and accounting for only a small fraction of hate speech, violence, and incitement content removal.
TikTok’s "For You" Allegedly Pushed Fatal “Blackout” Challenge Videos to Two Young Girls
TikTok’s recommendation algorithm was alleged in a lawsuit to have intentionally and repeatedly pushed videos of the “blackout” challenge onto children’s feeds, incentivizing their participation which ultimately resulted in the death of two young girls.